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TLS Crossword 1160 by Talos - January 27, 2017
An enjoyably eclectic mix of ancient and modern, domestic and foreign.Bit of a crime thing gong on, with not one but two New York crime series and an archvillain trying to get rid of trace evidence at...
View ArticleSaturday Times 26640 - 11th Feb. Crosswords in the Menagerie
Another good workout. The top half of the grid went in reasonably smoothly but then it was a slow struggle through the bottom half. I got several answers from the definition and helpers and then...
View ArticleTimes Jumbo 1249
I can't think of a lot to say about this one, which I found straightforward. Favourite clue: 23dn - I always enjoy the misdirection of clues like this.As always, * indicates an...
View ArticleSunday Times 4733 by Jeff Pearce
An enjoyable puzzle characterised by very economical cluing from Jeff - elegant, pithy surfaces abound.Nothing too taxing, although 1ac was unknown to me and went in from wordplay on a wing and a...
View ArticleMephisto 2946 - Paul McKenna
My only problem with this came from writing "toke" in at 12A which made the NW corner harder than it should have been! Annoying because the correct answer is well known to me. Other than that a...
View ArticleTimes 26653 - Braying Blumenthals
I thought this was a very pleasant little number, which I completed in 24 minutes with the unseen but immanent assistance of Hilarius of Poitiers, as I semi-biffed my last one, the plant at 9 across....
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 770 by Tracy
I just came in under the wire with a few seconds to spare to meet my 10 minute target. The final 2 minutes had been spent on 16dn - more on that later - and I shall be interested to know how others...
View ArticleTimes Number 26654
This one took me over an hour having got myself completely stuck on 20d and 29ac As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment,...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 771 by Flamande
I'm really pleased to have been on blog duty for this one. Solving took 8 minutes (so a good quick QC) but compiling the blog allowed me to fully relish some of the clues. I'd like to highlight 24ac,...
View ArticleQuick Cryptic 772 by Hurley
I found this one fairly straightforward - most of it wrapped up in the time it took me to eat a sausage roll in a car park whilst en route to a funeral - with the last couple being added later....
View ArticleTimes 26655 - two fish, no antelope, no plants.
A good puzzle nearly as amusing as yesterday's, I thought, with no unknown words or poor clues. Around 25 minutes by the time I'd decided I could parse it all. I thought 17d had a couple of clever...
View ArticleTimes 26656 - are you living up to the measure of your 11?
Solving time : 9:37 - I thought this was a rather fun and neat crossword, with everything going in on a first or second pass through the clues and no real holdups. My last in was what I'd pick as my...
View ArticleQuick cryptic No 773 by Orpheus
Good puzzle with some nice surfaces. I don’t have an accurate time, as I got up at 3:00 am to get this done before heading north on the M1, and wasn’t awake enough to remember to look at my watch, but...
View ArticleTimes Quick Cryptic 774 by Teazel
Following Rob's departure from his alternate Friday slot I am covering for one week until Galspray takes on all Friday QCs on his return from Japan. We have a rather unusual grid today in which the...
View ArticleTLS Crossword 1161 - Three down by Praxiteles - February 3, 2017
This was an unusually (for the Times) political puzzle. No complaints mind you, I found it thoroughly enjoyable. There are some time capsule elements to it that made it helpful to have been around in...
View ArticleTimes 26,657: Down With The NHS
A second puzzle in a row done by me, in defiance of human physiology and all else that is holy, first thing in the morning; but once more this left me with loads of change from a 10 minute time, so I...
View ArticleClub Monthly 20197 February 2017
Solving Time: 40 minutes, quick for me once again this month though my efforts to parse 16dn seem unconvincing so far.. otherwise the usual very high quality stuff we have come to expect from the Club...
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Jumbo 1250
Somewhat harder than average, with a handful of unknowns for me that went in on wordplay and crossed fingers. I enjoyed a good number of the surfaces, which isn't always the case with Jumbos - a Jumbo...
View ArticleSaturday Times Cryptic 26652 - February 18, 2017. Don't cry for me Richard...
I'm just temping here, alternately with Brnchn (Bruce), for the next few weeks while our new boss Vinyl finds a permanent replacement for the irreplaceable Linxit (I believe B is continuing). Some...
View ArticleMephisto 2947 - Don Manley
I finished this with some very large question marks, four of which required some online research to sort out. Fortunately the definition was unambiguous in each case.90-degree and 180-degree symmetry...
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